3rd trail ride on the Guardian.

planned to start our day at a trail called Betasso Preserve in Boulder. but unfortunately, we find that one cant ride this trail on Saturdays and Wednesday's. Damn!

the goal was to attempt to put in 3 laps, and maybe grind a forth @ 3 miles a piece.

well, my buddy steve and i went to Walker Ranch instead, lying to ourselves that we are capable of said trail. haha. rough! we actually had a meeting up issue. i started the trail ahead of him, and went left. DONT GO LEFT!!!! couple hours later, he went right.

this trail is beautiful! but OMG was i not ready for this!

The Guardian did well. still all stock except the saddle, my climbing limits were both physical, as well as my relearning technique. im getting better at not hitting my pedals! im still not a fan of descending on this bike as i am just not comfortable. i hope to alleviate this with my new fork and a stem change. also, these rotors are inadequate for my heft, but i also ordered a 203 setup for the front, and a 180 for the rear. all this aside, i do love this bike. Der's are ready for some more adjustments since the cables are stretching.

J7, glad you liked it. i usually dont take pics either, hell i stopped to breath/rest so many times i should have 100+ pics! hard damn trail Walker was. your trail looks good. comparable to most of our front range trails, just a lower elevation so you have more oxygen to breathe!

OilburnerDE, not sure where you are, but your welcome to come ride hear anytime!

Those Guardians are looking good! One thing I might suggest is to lower the stem 2 or 3 spacers. That really improved the handling on my Guardian. I thought the sluggishness was just me transitioning from 26er to 29er, but that adjustment brought back a lot of playfulness in the bike.

Those Guardians are looking good! One thing I might suggest is to lower the stem 2 or 3 spacers. That really improved the handling on my Guardian. I thought the sluggishness was just me transitioning from 26er to 29er, but that adjustment brought back a lot of playfulness in the bike.

good point, but in stock form, i would like to keep the spacers and have a slightly higher rise and shorter stem to put me more upright. but thats just my comfort preference. we'll see what happens after i get the 100mm fork on.

If you're upgrading to a 100mm fork, that should raise the bike up so you don't get as many pedal strikes. I have been struggling with my pedal strikes on the really technical trails to the point that I'm looking at some much nicer, thinner pedals to help with that. Also, bottom bracket height is something I'm really going to analyze before I purchase another bike. Yes, part of it is technique, but it would be great to be able to pedal while going around corners for once.

If nothing else, my experience with the Guardian is teaching me exactly what I want out of my next bike and/or upgrades on this bike.

Those Guardians are looking good! One thing I might suggest is to lower the stem 2 or 3 spacers. That really improved the handling on my Guardian. I thought the sluggishness was just me transitioning from 26er to 29er, but that adjustment brought back a lot of playfulness in the bike.

If you're upgrading to a 100mm fork, that should raise the bike up so you don't get as many pedal strikes. I have been struggling with my pedal strikes on the really technical trails to the point that I'm looking at some much nicer, thinner pedals to help with that. Also, bottom bracket height is something I'm really going to analyze before I purchase another bike. Yes, part of it is technique, but it would be great to be able to pedal while going around corners for once.

If nothing else, my experience with the Guardian is teaching me exactly what I want out of my next bike and/or upgrades on this bike.

The BB height on the Guardian is right inline with the BB height range for most 29er hardtails and most 26" hardtails. It's exactly the same as the Stumpjumper 29er.

Please Note: I no longer work for Airborne. If you have an Airborne question or problem please contact them directly.

I was struggling with pedal strike for a time as well. I found switching to a 100mm travel helped a little. Mostly it just took me some time to figure out how to ride the bike so that I didn't have that issue any more. Good luck and have fun!!

Rode the guardian about 11 miles at a local trail system called Balm Boyette. It performed great - there's a long fire road to get out to the trail system where the front fork lockout came in very handy.